Publishers: No More Plastic Crap With Your Games

Submitted by Joseph Haygood on May 27, 2009 – 9:29 am6 Comments

scratchdjcontroller After seeing yesterday’s Tony Hawk listing for $120 and now looking at two completely different controllers for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ and DJ Hero, I am now officially done with plastic controllers. I am tired of seeing a new game come out with the philosophy that it needs a new controller.

Let me ask you this: Did Tony Hawk Proving Grounds suck because it needed a new controller, or did it suck because it was basically, the same Tony Hawk game I have been playing since I owned Tony Hawk 2 almost 10 years ago to this day? The controller has no bearing on Tony Hawk being a good game. Tony Hawk was out-gamed by its competitor, skate!, which offered a new perspective and new control format, without resorting to bundling in plastic crap.

Look, when Guitar Hero first came out, the guitar controller was a cool accessory, that made me want to get a guitar controller, because it was fresh and new, while being relevant to the gaming experience I was about to enjoy. When Rock Band came about, I opted for just the game, because I had two guitar controllers already. I opted for the drums and a mic on my own time, because I did not have a desire to get another guitar. The whole point is that at the time, these new controllers added to the experience. The problem with them is that each release offered a new guitar controller. GH: Aerosmith offered what appeared to be the same Gibson that was in Guitar Hero III, but with an Aerosmith finish. Activision finally figured it out with Guitar Hero Metallica, that a game does not need to come with a plastic controller every time around. Of course then they slipped in the bathtub and hit their head, forgetting the lesson when they added a hunk of plastic into Tony Hawk: Ride.

tonyhawkride My rant was finalized this morning when I saw a final version of the Scratch: The Ultimate DJ controller and the DJ Hero controller side by side, and realized that the two were probably not going to be compatible with one another, and in turn, requiring me to own both if I wanted to enjoy both games. At that point I realized that the plastic controller idea had run its course and that I am more resigned than ever to not buy a game with a plastic toy in the box anymore. Sorry DJ Hero and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, but I am no longer going to buy your games. I cannot convince myself to buy anymore plastic junk. I don’t have the room for it, and it no longer commands the price point in my life that you are asking. I have two Singstar mics, two Lips mics, two Rock Band mics, two Xplorer guitars, one Rock Band Drum kit and that is enough. I am done with the bundled accessories.

Sorry for the rant but it had to be said. There may be some stream of consciousness here that does not fit well, and I apologize, but I was so pissed this morning at the controller scenarios coming the fall that I had to say something spur of the moment.

Tags: dj hero, guitar hero, incompatible, lips, plastic peripherals, rock band, scratch: the ultimate dj, singstar, tony hawk ride

http://thereviewdigest.blogspot.com kirbyfox

I was tired of it long before you, my friend. But while I see your point, I can see the point of the developers too. Sadly, Activision has come to the conclusion that a game will sell if it’s bundled w/ a controller of some sort. And Nintendo hasn’t helped matters any with everything they’ve been shelling out.

But is it all necessarily a bad thing? No, not at all. But some things are unneeded- we could’ve played Mario Kart without a wheel. We could’ve not had controllers for Scene It!. Game devs could’ve allowed any microphone to be plugged in and for controllers to be compatible. And we don’t need this new skateboard peripheral for Tony Hawk.

On the other hand, Guitar Hero would not have played like it did. Rock Band’s drums were a new thing, and GH’s drums kicked it up a notch. The Balance Board made Wii Fit able to happen, and potentially made other games more immersive- like snowboarding. This new DJ controller is another thing- you couldn’t have a game based on DJ’ing feel right without this (or at least it wouldn’t be as intuitive). And yeah, both games should be compatible- but you have to realize companies are rivals in this area. And Scratch is going up against Activision- so it’s not likely either are going to allow it.
JoeFourhman

I don't know. I'm still into it. Now, I could care less about a DJ game and a skateboarding game, but if Certain Franchises show up with cool immersive bonus peripherals, I'm in. Just because the games themselves are largely intangible doesn't mean I'm afraid to have physical toys accompany it.
sifer2400

JUST DONT BUY IT
thats like asking game companies to stop making shitty games , its just not going to happen
morphiend

I'm more ticked off at the incompatibility and high price. I remember when people made fun of me when I bought my metal DDR pads. They were expensive and (at the time) only worked on the PS2.

Now I own 4 plastic guitars, 2 microophones (one's a headset), and a drum set. Oh, and 1 1/2 light guns (the half one doesn't work most of the time).

All of the plastic peripherals is one of the things that turned me off from the Wii in its infancy. I still only have 2 Wiimotes and 1 nunchuck.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

I totally agree. The plastic crap is getting out of hand now with DJ Hero, Tony Hawk and don't forget $250 for the “full Beatles experience.”

I'll be avoiding all three games and plastic crap that goes with them like the plague.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

I totally agree. The plastic crap is getting out of hand now with DJ Hero, Tony Hawk and don't forget $250 for the “full Beatles experience.”

I'll be avoiding all three games and plastic crap that goes with them like the plague.